African Elections And The Misinformation And Disinformation Scourge

Introduction

The year 2024 is significant for Africa, as nearly one-third of its countries are holding national elections. Elections are fundamental for democratic governance, essential for political transition and necessary to give legitimacy to any change of government. In an increasingly digitalised world where societies have become smaller, this is even more significant, since the parties that wins will have overall responsibility for the implementation of the development agenda of nations. Nowhere is this more critical than in Africa for the year 2024.

This is exemplified by the fact that Botswana will be going to the polls to elect a new National Assembly and local authorities on 30 October 2024. Similarly, there are four other scheduled elections in Africa in November. These include Somaliland, which will be electing a new president on 13 November, Guinea Bissau which will also be electing a new national assembly on 24 November and Namibia which will be electing a new president and new national assembly on 27 November. On 30 November, Mauritius will be holding its general elections. Ghanaians will take their turn on 7 December to elect a new president and parliament, while Chad will be electing national and local assembly members on 29 December. Chad has already held its presidential election on 6 May 2024. These are the remaining elections confirmed for the rest of the year in Africa, according to Africanarguments.org.

Already, several African countries have held elections between January and now. Algeria held its presidential election on 7 September 2024. It was originally scheduled for December this year but President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, 78, brought it forward and got re-elected with 94.65 of the votes cast.

Comoros elected a new president and governors on 14 January and on 29 May, Madagascar elected a new national assembly while Mauritania elected a new president and senate on 29 June.

In October, Tunisians and Mozambicans went to the polls in October to presidents, parliamentarians and provincial governors. Rwadans previously held their polls, as well as Senegal, which held their polls to elect a president. This was preceded by a botched attempt by the former President Macky Sall to delay the election by a year. In this particular instance though, the parliamentary election is yet to be held, and will be due on the 17^th of November.

All of the above are indicative of how busy the African continent has been relative to elections this year, and how this trend is expected to continue to the end of 2024. While this has been the case, a clear challenge which has emerged has been the attendant issue of misinformation and disinformation. Africa has not been spared both deliberate and inadvertent spread of false news, that has become the scourge of national elections around the world.

This article discusses misinformation and disinformation as an emerging challenge and a key security issue that requires attention and the key strategies required to deal with it. Unless this is done it has the capacity to undermine the outcome of elections, cause instability and ultimately lead to unrest, particularly among the youth who are technologically savvy and digitally aware.

Recent Incidents of Misinformation in Elections.

Technology improvements and the incidence of Artificial Intelligence have made technology savvy individuals with malicious intent more capable of misinformation. At the same time, artificial intelligence can be used to support individuals and groups to achieve stated objectives. In the run-up to the 9-phase elections from 7 April to 12 May in India, for example, the influence of AI-induced mis/disinformation was substantively felt. Prime Minister Narendra Modi used AI to address an audience in Hindi by using the government-created AI tool Bhashini, which was then translated into Tamil in real-time.

Just over the border in Pakistan, AI allowed jailed politician Imran Khan to address a rally. The incidence of social media, has provided platforms for Politicians and political parties to take advantage to disseminate information (press statements, videos and pictures of political activities, achievements etc.). This is done much more cheaply that previously as platforms with large numbers of people engenders large-scale outreach at minimal cost relative to the traditional media.

There are challenges to the benefits of Artificial Intelligence however. In the Indian elections, two viral videos showed Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh and Aamir Khan campaigning for the opposition Congress party, according to the BBC. These were AI-engineered disinformation videos. Both victims filed police complaints saying these were deepfakes, made without their consent.

This issue gained traction on 29^th April when Prime Minister Modi also raised concerns about AI being used to distort speeches by senior leaders of the ruling party including him. The result was the arrest of two people from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress party. These arrests were in connection with a doctored video of Home Minister Amit Shah.

Artificial Intelligence has also made it possible for deepfakes of popular deceased politicians appealing to voters as if they were still alive. This has become a popular campaign tactic in India. In neighbouring Bangladesh a video emerged of an opposition lawmaker — a conservative Muslim-majority nation — wearing a bikini.

According to TechTarget[1], Deepfake AI is “a type of artificial intelligence used to create convincing images, audio and video hoaxes.” It says the term describes both the technology and the resulting bogus content and is a portmanteau of deep learning and fake. Deepfakes, TechTarget noted, often transform existing source content where one person is swapped for another. They also create entirely original content where someone is represented doing or saying something they didn’t do or say.

TechTarget warns: “The greatest danger posed by deepfakes is their ability to spread false information that appears to come from trusted sources. For example, in 2022 a deepfake video was released of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy asking his troops to surrender.” It said concerns have also been raised over the potential to meddle in elections and election propaganda, adding that while deepfakes pose serious threats, they also have legitimate uses, such as video game audio and entertainment, and customer support and caller response applications, such as call forwarding and receptionist services.

Deepfakes have also become ingrained in US elections. An article by Emil Sayegh, the President and CEO of Ntirety and published on 14 May 2024 by Forbes listed the following examples of election-related deepfakes:

A manipulated video on Twitter suggesting President Biden incorrectly stated Russia’s occupation duration of Kyiv.
Manipulated footage claiming Senator Elizabeth Warren advocated barring Republicans from voting in the 2024 presidential election.
Altered audio on TikTok falsely conveying President Biden’s threats to deploy F-15s to Texas.
A video alteration making Vice President Harris appear inebriated and nonsensical.
An online AI-generated photo falsely showing ex-President Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein and an underage girl.
AI-created images on x (formerly Twitter) falsely depicting President Biden in military attire.
A PAC-supported advertisement misusing AI to replicate Donald Trump’s criticism of Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.
AI-generated portrayals of Donald Trump and Joe Biden in a fictitious debate on Twitch.
A DeSantis campaign video with AI-fabricated images attacking Donald Trump.
Synthetic speech suggesting President Biden made comments on financial instability, potentially inciting market chaos or misleading corporate leaders.

A June 6, 2024 article by Shanze Hasan published on www.brennancenter.org mentioned that earlier this year, AI-generated robocalls imitated President Biden’s voice, targeting New Hampshire voters and discouraging them from voting in the primary. Additionally, an AI-generated image falsely depicting former president Trump with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and a young girl began circulating on Twitter.

Outside the US, the article listed a few other election-related incidents such as the circulation of deepfakes in the Slovakian election last year, defaming a political party leader and possibly helping swing the election in favour of his pro-Russia opponent.

A 16 March 2024 VOA report on Slovakia said there was a fake audio of the country’s liberal party leader discussing changing ballots and raising the price of beer.

The VOA also lists a video of Moldova’s pro-Western president leader throwing her support behind a political party that is friendly to Russia.

Shanze Hasan’s article, titled, ‘The Effect of AI on Elections Around the World and What to Do About It,’ recalled that in January this year, the Chinese government tried to deploy AI deepfakes to meddle in the Taiwanese election.

One deepfake depicted a BBC newsreader, Sarah Campbell, falsely claiming that British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promoted a scam investment platform. The article mentioned an instance where the leading candidate for president in Indonesia, a former general, deployed an AI-generated cartoon to humanise himself to appeal to younger voters.

In Belarus, the country’s embattled opposition ran an AI-generated “candidate” for parliament. The candidate — a chatbot that describes itself as a 35-year-old from Minsk — is part of an advocacy campaign to help the opposition, many of whom have gone into exile, reach Belorussian voters.

Ahead of Singapore’s elections due in 2025, the country has already started experiencing the threat of AI deepfakes. Channelnewsasia.com reported on 1 June 2024 that a widely circulated WhatsApp message was making the rounds claiming that new Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has called for polls to be held on September 6, 2024.

Some examples of disinformation and misinformation in recent African elections

South Africa’s recent election brought the influence of social media and AI in African politics to the fore when Tech giants Meta (owners of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Threads), as well as TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and Google refused to share information and engage with civil society intended. This was detailed information about their election plans, plans to engage with civil society and to correct social media-enabled fake news and intemperate language. It was an attempt to prevent what happened in 2021 which sparked off violence that resulted in the killing of 300 people following a contempt case against former President Jacob Zuma, who is now the leader of splinter party uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK).

Ahead of the election, Mr Zuma was disqualified from running due to a prior prison sentence for contempt of court. His supporters rejected the decision and threatened violence.

In Nigeria, disinformation was rampant during the 2023 elections, where multiple strategies were used to mislead voters according to Africa Check and AFP Check. Manipulated videos falsely showed Hollywood stars endorsing Peter Obi, while other posts claimed that APC’s Bola Tinubu had hoarded truckloads of cash amid a national currency shortage. Bots and trolls were also employed on social media to manipulate narratives and polarise voters along ethnic and religious lines. Fake news websites proliferated, publishing unsubstantiated claims about candidates. Despite efforts by fact-checkers, including Africa Check and the Nigeria Factcheckers’ Coalition, the sheer volume of disinformation made it challenging to combat the disinformation.

Similarly, in the 2022 Kenyan general elections, there were false claims about the election system, manipulated images, and fake polling results circulated widely on platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook. Additionally, campaigns fuelled ethnic tensions and spread disinformation to delegitimise political rivals. Efforts by civil society organisations, like the Fumbua initiative, worked to pre-emptively debunk false narratives and mitigate the impact of this harmful content.

The Africa Centre for Strategic Studies also noted that Russian-backed disinformation played a role in recent elections in Nigeria (2023) and Kenya (2022). It said the campaigns typically circulate false information to undermine election credibility, spread confusion, and erode trust in democratic institutions.

According to the Centre’s ‘Mapping a Surge of Disinformation in Africa,’ Russia sponsored 80 documented disinformation campaigns targeting over 22 African countries. These campaigns, it mentioned, use tactics such as paid influencers, fake videos and digital avatars to manipulate voters and promote authoritarian regimes. For instance, in countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, where recent military coups occurred, Russian-linked groups actively fuelled anti-democratic narratives, validating the coups and destabilising civilian rule.

It noted that West Africa has been a primary target, with nearly 40% of the documented disinformation campaigns in the region. It added that Russia has utilised its resources, particularly the Wagner Group, to destabilise governments and legitimise coups.

In Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections, AFP Fact Check noted that disinformation was also a significant challenge. It said fake news articles and doctored images were circulated to undermine the opposition, while disinformation about the electoral process itself caused confusion and reduced public trust in the results. The spread of false information was exacerbated by the country’s limited digital literacy, making it harder for voters to differentiate between credible sources and false reports.

In Sierra Leone’s June 2023 elections, the UNDP and Voice of America noted that disinformation played a significant role, particularly on social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. A key example was the circulation of manipulated images and videos designed to mislead voters. To combat this, Sierra Leone implemented the iVerify fact-checking platform, supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which helped verify the authenticity of election-related content. This system allowed voters to submit questionable content for fact-checking, ensuring that citizens could access accurate information amidst the flood of misinformation. Some of the common tactics included spreading rumours about candidates’ policies and false information about voting procedures, aiming to suppress or confuse voters. The iVerify platform worked with media literacy campaigns and employed AI to quickly flag and verify dubious content.

The UNDP also pointed out that the 2023 elections in Côte d’Ivoire experienced misinformation challenges especially because the same level of organised fact-checking systems like iVerify was not used in that country. The UNDP said various reports indicated that manipulated content and misleading narratives impacted public perception.

Impact of misinformation and disinformation on Africa’s democracy

Using misinformation and disinformation to legitimise coups in Africa poses a threat to the decades-old attempts and efforts by the various regional communities on the continent to entrench democracy and make it the most preferred form of governance. This is especially dangerous for a continent whose democracy is yet to mature to the point that it can withstand the test of time.

Furthermore, it is particularly worrying that a continent with so many different languages, ethnic groups, cultures, religions and people, could easily become prone to inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflicts. The scourge of mis/disinformation must be reined in to avert another Rwandan genocide since in Africa, political parties are almost always tied to specific ethnic groups as their primary support base.

In addition to the above, mis/disinformation could be a major threat to the peace and security of Africa during elections as it may embolden a losing party to refuse to concede, leading to incitement of its support base to conflict against the electoral authorities and security agencies. Such conflict could be the nucleus of a civil war that may end up plummeting an entire country into the abyss. Mis/disinformation could as be a manipulative tool by foreign powers to perpetuate their preferred pawns in power through whom they exercise proxy authority in a neo-colonial style. It can be a conduit to steal the will of the people and foist dictators on a country. Africans, therefore, must strive to put in fact-checking measures that help to flag disinformation and misinformation, especially during elections to neutralise their intended impact and effect on the psyche of the continent’s peoples.

Conclusion

The occurrence of misinformation and disinformation across the globe and its impacts, particularly in elections, are a threat to the advancement of democracy worldwide. Africa is at the crossroads where it is susceptible to technological advancement to engendering and spreading misinformation. In order to prevent the deepening impacts of such incidence, CISA recommends the following;

Media Literacy Education – this is particularly important as the media holds significant sway over the reading and watching public in many African nation. Such media education should be so designed as to make users of media, more critically conscious of the impact of social media during elections and the attendant problems of disinformation and misinformation.

Developing Fact-Checking Initiatives and systems – This is necessary to allow citizens cross check facts and get to know for themselves what the truth is at all times. It may require support for independent fact checking organisations.

Improved Transparency in Information Sources – Countries should work towards being more open and transparent relative to information sharing and sources of information to support fact checking.

Enhancing Digital Platform Accountability – This is also critical and should be backed by law where possible to make people accountable for the content on their platforms.

Developing Technology Solutions and establishment of key institutions such as Cyber Security Centres to track and identify perpetrators of misinformation

Legal and Policy Frameworks – this should be instituted in a manner that promulgates laws that address the spread of false information, particularly in political contexts. It would be necessary to work in concert with other institutions internationally.